Brion Gysin and His
Wonderful Dreamachine

By Dan Century

A dreamachine is little more than a
perforated tube of paper placed on a spinning platter with a light bulb
positioned in the tube. Holes are cut from the tube according to a
specific pattern. You sit in front of the dreamachine at eye-level with
the bulb, with your eyes closed. If constructed correctly the dreamachine
should emit a pulse of light between 8-13 Hz, which is the precise rhythm
of alpha-waves in the brain. Alpha-waves are dominant during the "alpha
state," which occurs during deep meditation or the early stages of
sleep. Alpha-waves are associated with a healthy mind and a stress-free
life. For those of us with mentally taxing jobs and stressful lives, the
dreamachine can restore order and relaxation, with the bonus of some
interesting visual effects.

The
first dreamachine was imagined and constructed by Brion Gysin sometime in
the early 1960's with the aid of mathematician Ian Sommerville. Gysin, an
occultist, artist and writer living in Paris, was a close friend of
William S. Burroughs (who often receives credit for the invention).
Burroughs and Gysin experimented with the dreamachine extensively. Both
men were familiar with British neuroscientist W. Gray Walter's discovery
that flashing lights quickly altered brain activity and not only the
visual cortex, but the whole mind.

Subjects report dazzling lights of
unearthly brilliance and color. ...Elaborate geometric constructions of
incredible intricacy build up from multidimensional mosaic into living
fireballs like the mandalas of Eastern mysticism or resolve momentarily
into apparently individual images and powerfully dramatic scenes like
brightly colored dreams. - William S. Burroughs

You could achieve the same "alpha state"
after learning and practicing meditation, or by training yourself with
bio-feedback machines, however the dreamachine offers you a fantastic
light show and relatively quick alpha-wave production. People find that
dreamachine therapy and other alpha-wave related therapy lead to decreased
anxiety, overall calmness, increases IQ scores, increases in brain
hemisphere coordination and overall intellectual function. All this
without drugs!

I built my own dreamachine following plans
which you can obtain for free from the links at the end of this article. I
bought a $5 turntable at a garage sale, a 24" x 48" sheet of
heavy white paper and some tape. Using a marker, ruler and razor I cut the
paper according to the directions and bent it into the shape of the tube.
After ripping the tone arm off the record player I glued the tube to the
platter and dropped a drop-light down through the middle of the tube. With
the light turned on, the room lights turned off and the turn table set to
78rpm, I sat in front of it with my eyes closed. At first I was restless,
expecting an immediate effect. Within minute or so I was rewarded with
soft geometric patterns, like a swirling storm of pink, white, yellow and
green cherry blossom petals. These visions also appeared as if I had full
360 degree vision - as I was seeing with my mind and not my eyes. I
relaxed and enjoyed the images. It was like dreaming - while I was awake.

I'm not going to claim that the dreamachine
works for everyone, although it should. If you do decide to build one, I
recommend mellow instrumental electronic music to augment the experience.
I also must caution epileptics not to use the dreamachine, as the
flickering lights may trigger a seizure, not unlike a strobe light or TV.
Otherwise try it: it's a cheap thrill for less than ten dollars and it
looks cool sitting in the corner of your dorm room.